Reborn
by Annie Gray
Summary: The choice of which factions they belonged to has always been clear to Athena Astlee and Alice Candid, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it's an easy choice, but no matter what they choose and where they go, they both know that they will be reborn.
1. Introduction

The faction system. It's what keeps the order. Without it, everything collapses and the world falls into chaos. Everyone is protected by the faction systems. It allows them to choose their own way, decide who they are and want to be, Erudite, Dauntless, Amity, Candor, or Abnegation. The Abnegation are the selfless. They believe that one should never do something simply to benefit oneself, "Therefore I choose to turn away from my reflection, to rely not on myself, but on my brothers and sisters, to protect always outward, until I disappear." The Abnegation wear grey, so that they do not draw attention to themselves. They are the government of the city. This was decided based on the fact that they are not concerned about themselves. The Amity are the kind. They will do anything for anyone and expect others to do the same for them, "Then give freely, trusting that you will also be given what you need." The Amity wear natural colors such as red, orange, and brown. They are the farmers, musicians, and artists. Then there are the Dauntless, the brave. They protect others and make sure that everyone is safe, "We believe in ordinary acts of bravery, in the courage that drives one person to stand up for another." The Dauntless wear provocative and clingy black clothing. They serve as the policemen, boarder patrols, and firefighters, for they will do anything to protect us all. The Erudite have the brains. They believe that knowledge comes before all else, "Therefore, we propose that in order to eliminate conflict, we must eliminate the disconnect among those with differences by correcting the lack of understanding that arises from ignorance with knowledge." The Erudite wear blue because it is a calming color that helps stimulate the brain. They are the teachers and doctors. The Candor are the truthful. They believe that honesty is the best policy, "Dishonesty is rampant, dishonesty is temporary, dishonesty makes evil possible. Truth makes us transparent, truth makes us strong, truth is inextricable." The Candor wear black and white because they believe that the truth is black and white. They are the lawyers. At the age of 16 everyone may choose which faction they belong to and attempt to make it through that factions initiation, if they can't they become factionless. If they choose to leave their faction of birth they are completely cut off from their family. Faction before blood is a motto that they all must live by. This story starts with two girls, Alice Candid and Athena Astlee. Both from different factions and with different futures in mind, but whose destinies are intertwined.


	2. Chapter 1

Alice's POV  
I wake just to feel all the stress come rushing back again. The aptitude test is coming up in a few day and I have no idea what to expect. I already have a pretty good idea of which faction I belong in, and its definitely not Candor, but I am reluctant to leave behind my family.  
"Alice! You're late! Get your butt down here before your breakfast gets cold!" My dad yells up at me.  
"Coming!" I yell back at him and quickly get dressed before running down the stairs and nearly knocking over my mom.  
"Sorry mom."  
"Be careful, we don't need you getting hurt 2 days before your aptitude test."  
"Oh don't remind me."  
"Are you nervous?"  
"Yes."  
"Why? There's no need to be nervous. You'll take the test, come home, say goodbye to us all, and then leave for your new home."  
I look at her shocked. "What?"  
"Do you think I'm an idiot? I may not be a Nose, but I still can tell that you don't belong here. Wherever you end up is okay with me. Your father, not so much, but we can deal with him when the time comes."  
I smile at her. "Thanks mom."  
"No problem. Now go eat. You have five minutes before school starts."  
"Shit!"  
"Language!"  
"Sorry! I didn't realize how late it had gotten!" I grab a muffin and run out the door after giving my mom a quick kiss on the cheek and yelling goodbye to my dad. I don't like to take the bus, I would much rather walk to school, I don't too far away from it anyway. Today I have to run to school. I get there just in time and rush down the hallway towards my history class. I take my seat right as class starts and notice the Erudite girl who has sat next to me all year give me a look.  
"What are you looking at Nose."  
"The idiot who was late for class. You look as if you just woke up."  
"I had to run all the way here."  
"Why?"  
"Because I don't want to take the bus."  
"That's stupid. Why would you walk when you don't have to?"  
"That's none of your business." I say and turn away from her. The one thing that I know about that girl is that she is a protege. Most people seem to think that she will take over the Erudite faction when Jeanine gets too old or retires, whichever comes first. I look around at everyone in the class. Its a pretty fair mix of people from different factions. You've got little miss protege and her fellow Erudite's who are sitting in the front taking notes and paying very close attention, I could never be one of 're all too stuck up and I'm not nearly smart enough. Then there are the Amity girls in the back corner giggling about something, there's no way I could be in Amity either. They are all so happy all the time. It gets on my nerves. The Abnegation sit in the back of the class and stay quiet, taking small notes and whispering to each other when one of them misses something. I'm not nearly calm enough or selfless enough to be one of them. The Candor are scattered throughout the room questioning everything that the teacher says. I don't know if I could stay Candor. My mom obviously thinks that I can't. Then there are the Dauntless. They sit in the middle of the class and spend the whole time talking about what they are doing after school and how they can't wait to get tattoos and piercings. Some of them make paper airplanes and throw them at each other, others just ball up their notes page and throw it. I envy them, their freedom, their games, their stories. Life would never be boring as a member of Dauntless. That's where I wanna be. I take out a piece of paper and start drawing. I think of the Dauntless, how they risk so much just to get a good thrill. How they jump off trains just to prove that they don't stop. How they would jump right into Hell, just for the heck of it, to prove that they aren't cowards. I catch the Erudite girl staring at me from the corner of my eye.  
"If you want to say something then say it." I tell her.  
"Why would you use your notes page to draw? Your supposed to take notes."  
"I don't need notes."  
"Why not?"  
"Because I have this amazing thing called memory. Ever heard of it?"  
"What are you drawing anyway?" She asks. I look down at it and realize that I don't know what I'm drawing. I just zone out and let my hands do the work.  
Instead of answering her question I ask her a different one. "What's your name again?"  
"Athena."  
"Athena? Like the Greek Goddess of Wisdom?" She nods. "Wow. You Noses are actually naming your children after something that means being smart?"  
"Your one to talk. Alice is supposed to be a truthful name."  
"What does that even mean? How can a name be truthful?"  
"I don't feel like explaining this to you right now."  
"Alright. So what other Noses have 'smart names'?"  
"My brother's name was Cato."  
"Cato?"  
"Yes. Cato means wise in an ancient language."  
"Why do you say was?" She gives me a weird look. "You said 'my brother's name _was_ Cato'. Why do you say was?"  
"Because he probably changed it. He disgraced us all by switching to Dauntless last year."  
"'Disgraced you all'? He was just doing what was best for him. It's not his fault that he isn't a genius."  
"He was a genius." This time _I_ give _her_ a weird look. She tolls her eyes. " I'm not talking to you about this."  
"Actually you are."  
"No, I'm not."  
"Yes you are."  
"No, I'm not."  
"Then stop talking."  
"You stop talking."  
"Ladies!" The teacher yells, staring the two of us down. "Are you two done yet?"  
"Yes ma'am. I apologize." Athena says immediately. I just roll my eyes and continue to draw.

The rest of the day goes by without anything exciting happening, not that anything exciting usually happens. I talk to a few of my friends in the hallways in between classes and then spend the classes finishing and perfecting the picture I started drawing in the morning. After school is over I start walking back to my house with my friend Lexi. She's talking about some guy that she likes.  
"...so he looked at me and smiled and I smiled back. Then he said hi to me and I said hey back and he asked me if I wanted to hang out later! Can you believe it? Then a few minutes later some other girl came up and asked him out and he turned her down saying that he already had plans and smiled at me again! He is so perfect and he likes me, I mean how perfect is that? We are going to meet up at the Hub later today. Maybe I could convince him to bring one of his friends and you can come. It would be nice for you to finally get out and date someone."  
"I've dated people before."  
"Johnny doesn't count."  
"Whatever. Now isn't the time to be focusing on guys anyway. The aptitude test is in two days and then after that is the Choosing Ceremony and after that we will most likely be split up and never see each other again."  
"Oh come on. Stop being such a downer. Have some fun for once!"  
"Trust me. After the Choosing Ceremony I plan on having plenty of good times in whichever faction I choose."  
"Do you already have one in mind? I do."  
"Of course I have one in mind."  
"Oh! Do tell!"  
"No. For all I know the test will tell me some other faction and all my dreams will be crushed."  
"Oh come on! I'll tell you what faction I want if you tell me which one you want."  
"Not happening."  
"You're Candor remember? You're supposed to be truthful."  
"I am being truthful. I told you that I know which one I want and that I wont tell you which one it is. That was the truth." We walk up next to my house. "I gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow at school." I say before walking inside and closing the door. I turn around to find my dad standing right behind me. "Hey daddy."  
"You're late. Dinner's cold."  
"I'll just eat it cold then."  
"Damn straight you will. When are you going to start paying more attention? Stop being late everywhere? Start actually doing something with your life? Actually get something accomplished?"  
"I'm still not even a member of a faction yet. I will start focusing on those things once I become a member of the faction of my choice."  
"You need to start now. That way you can be ahead of the game."  
"That would only be possible if I were to choose this faction."  
"You are choosing this faction."  
"Not necessarily. What if the test tells me I'm Erudite or Dauntless or something."  
"It doesn't matter what the test says. You are staying Candor."  
"No, I'm not dad. You can't force me. When I take the aptitude test it will tell me where I belong and if it isn't here then you can't change that. Then on the day of the Choosing Ceremony I will put my blood into one of those bowls and you have absolutely no control over which one it is."  
He gets in my face and I glare up at him as he glares down at me. "That is no way to talk to your father."  
"I am just telling the truth."  
"You will choose Candor or you will regret it."  
"You can't do shit about anything when I finally leave this hell hole."  
"You are not leaving." He moves to shove me and I duck under him, pushing his hands away. I use the moment that he is off balance to run back outside. I run to the Hub and sit there, waiting for Lexi to show up with that guy she likes. As I wait I continue drawing. I look down at the drawing and take in what I have been working on all day. There is a black shape that almost looks like it could be some sort of medal or pendant. Inside it is a skull that is on fire. That's it. It's simple and the paper still looks plain. There is some room above and below the black shape. Maybe I could write something in those areas. I think for a moment about my dad. I called my home a hell hole. I didn't even think about it and I said that. Is that what I've always thought of it? Or was that just a sort of heat of the moment thing? When I step into my house is it really like stepping into Hell. No. It's more like falling into Hell. With no escape, because I have to go back there eventually. Like in the Greek mythology tale of Persephone. She can come back to the surface for a certain amount of time, but no matter what she must always come back home to Hades eventually. An idea pops into my head. I know what to write around the shape that I drew. I hear laughing and look up to see a guy walking this way. Before he gets here I look down at the piece of paper and quickly jot down 4 words: _Feet first into Hell._ I'll clean it up later. The guy sees me and walks up.  
"You wouldn't happen to know Lexi, would you?"  
"Yeah. She's my friend. I'm assuming that your the guy she's hanging out with today."  
"Yeah. Do you know where she is?"  
"Probably being fashionably late, like always." Right on cue, Lexi comes walking up to us looking beautiful.  
"Wow." I hear the guy standing next to me whisper.  
Lexi notices me and smile. "So. You decided to show up anyway?"  
"Yeah. I felt like getting out of the house."  
"Well then, let me introduce you to Dylan." Dylan nods at me. "And Dylan, this is my friend Alice. I told her that she could tag along if that's okay with you."  
"Yeah. It's fine." He says.  
"Alright then. Let's go find something fun to do before curfew!" Lexi says and then leads the way as Dylan and I follow.


	3. Chapter 2

Athena's POV

I wake up to the sound of my alarm going off. When I open my eyes I see the calming blue walls of my room. While getting changed I remember it's only 2 days till the aptitude test. How amazing.  
"Athena! Get down here! Your food is ready" I hear my mother call to me. When I get down I see my breakfast of a blueberry parfait, eggs and green tea. All great brain food. As usually in my house both my parents are reading while eating. Always trying to increase there knowledge. And of course like the majority of the erudite faction they wear fake glasses. I don't wear them because I'm already smart enough, actually I have the second highest IQ, the highest is Jeanine. In the Erudite the smartest person is the leader.  
"Athena! Day dreaming does not increase intelligence and you have to get to school. Go. Get going" and with that I leave the house and head to the bus. As usually I am the first in class even before the teacher. I take this quite time to study and get ready for class. As time goes on people start to file in. Erudite first followed by a mixture of Amity and Abnegation. Candors are mixed I with everyone. And lastly as a pack the Dauntless enter. Well not lastly Alice walks in last. Yes I know her name. Jeanine says I have to learn everyone's name and information.  
"What are you looking at Nose?" There she goes using worthless nicknames.  
"The idiot who was late for class. You look as if you just woke up. " I'm not known for my kindness.  
"I had to run all the way here" if she just learned how to get up on time she wouldn't of had to run.  
"Why?"  
"Because I don't want to take the bus."  
"That's stupid. Why would you walk when you don't have to?"  
"That's none of your business." with that she turns away from me its out of the cantor character to avoid answering question. She is going to end up faction less or in another one. Probably Dauntless she seems reckless enough, but its time to stop day dreaming I need to get to my notes. Unfortunately, before I get the chance she catches me staring at her.  
"If you want to say something then say it." She says to me rudely.  
"Why would you use your notes page to draw? Your supposed to take notes." I ask her, not understanding how her simple brain could possible function correctly.  
"I don't need notes."  
"Why not?"  
"Because I have this amazing thing called memory. Ever heard of it?" Now she is getting on my nerves.  
"What are you drawing anyway?" I ask her to change the subject since she should never do that, her being Candor and all.  
"What's your name again?" She asks me. Wow. Apparently she will change the subject. Definitely not Candor.  
"Athena." I tell her with pride.  
"Athena? Like the Greek Goddess of Wisdom?" I nod. "Wow. You Noses are actually naming your children after something that means being smart?" Okay, two can play at this game.  
"Your one to talk. Alice is supposed to be a truthful name."  
"What does that even mean? How can a name be truthful?" Of course she is too stupid to understand that names have meanings behind them.  
"I don't feel like explaining this to you right now."  
"Alright. So what other Noses have 'smart names'?"  
"My brother's name was Cato." I say quietly, as if mentioning him will get me in trouble like it does at home.  
"Cato?"  
"Yes. Cato means wise in an ancient language."  
"Why do you say was?" I give her a weird look, what does she mean? "You said 'my brother's name _was_ Cato'. Why do you say was?"  
"Because he probably changed it." I explain, still not being very comfortable with talking about him. "He disgraced us all by switching to Dauntless last year." I can remember the day like it was yesterday. His name was called and all the Erudites had showed up to watch this proud day, where my brother would give his blood to the glass and officially become one of us. He was the pride of the faction. Highest IQ, he even surpassed Jeanine, that was the day that he was to become the leader. But he didn't. He walked up to the bowls and dug that horrid knife into his skin. He look at our proud smiles and postures and he poured his pure blood into the coals before taking his seat with dumbest faction of all.  
"'Disgraced you all'?" Alice says angrily, snapping me out of my flashback. "He was just doing what was best for him. It's not his fault that he isn't a genius." She couldn't be more wrong.  
"He was a genius." This time _she_ gives _me_ a weird look. I roll my eyes. Theres no way she could ever understand. " I'm not talking to you about this."  
"Actually you are." She says, being a smart-ass.  
"No, I'm not." I argue.  
"Yes you are." She should just stop.  
"No, I'm not." My anger rises.  
"Then stop talking."  
"You stop talking."  
"Ladies!" The teacher yells, staring the two of us down. "Are you two done yet?"  
"Yes ma'am. I apologize." I say immediately, regretting letting my emotions show. All she does is roll her and eyes and focus back on her drawing.

Once class is over, instead of going back home I walk to Jeanine's main office to help her work on our latest project. This is one that my brother had started, but left before he could finish. I liked the idea and managed to convince Jeanine that we should continue it, as a sort of show of respect to his once Erudite mind. So I walk into Jeanine's office and get ready for our newest experiment on Copper. Our spy dog.


	4. Chapter 3

p style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 24.48px;"Alice's POVbr /br / We ended up going to some club that is a neutral area among the factions. Some drunk Erudite guy was flirting with me while Lexi and Dylan got drunk and started dancing. I only pushed the Erudite guy away when he tried to kiss me. Once midnight came around I dragged the two lovebirds away from the club and made sure that they got home safely before getting myself home. I sneak quietly into my house, making sure not to wake my father who is passed out on the couch. When I get to my room I drop my stuff down next to the door and lay down on the black and white bed. It doesn't take me long to fall asleep. br /br / When I wake I stare up at my plain white ceiling and. One more day. I sit up and get a style="color: #003399; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-color: #003399; font-size: 1em;" href=" alice_candor/set?id=171095468" rel="nofollow" data-cke-saved-href=" alice_candor/set?id=171095468"dressed/aspan style="font-size: 1em;" before going down stairs and grabbing a bagel. I leave the house before my parents get into the living room, I don't want to have to deal with them today. I take my time getting to school, but I end up being the second one in the classroom, not counting the teacher. I take my seat next to the Erudite girl, Athena, and ignore her strange looks. The class goes by quickly and as soon as it's over I leave. In the next class I decide to take out the drawing that I was working on yesterday and finish it. About halfway through the class the teacher notices and yells at me. /span/p  
p style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 24.48px;""Alice, now is not the time for coloring."br /"Oh, I'm sorry for working on something that could actually get me somewhere in life instead of paying attention to your boring lectures that none of us will remember once we get to our new factions anyway."br /My comment gets some "oooh"'s and snickers form the Dauntless and some glares from the Erudites and the teacher who mutters something along the lines of "inconsiderate" and "disrespectful", but she left me alone for the rest of class. I go through the rest of my classes without much happening besides finishing my picture. When school is finally over, I meet Lexi and Dylan in the spot I always meet Lexi in. br /"Hey girl!" Lexi says as she approaches. "You wanna go out with us again tonight?"br /"No way. I'm not letting you get drunk again."br /"Oh come on. You're no fun! Fine. We'll just go back to my place. Sound good?"br /"Yeah. Let's go."br /Lexi turns to Dylan, "What about you Dyl? You wanna hang with us?"br /"Sure. I don't have to be home any time soon."br /"Great! Follow me!" Lexi says before skipping off in the direction of her house. Dylan laughs and shakes his head as the two of us follow. A few minutes later we are standing in front of her house. She spreads her arms out to her sides dramatically and says,br /"Welcome to mi casa." She turns and throws open the doors before leading us inside. "My parents are gone for the week so we dont have to deal with them and Peter is spending the night at his friend Drew's house so we don't have to deal with that little brat either." She says as Dylan and I take in her house. There is no color, it's all black and white like all standard Candor homes, the only difference is that her house is huge compared to the others. Her parents are highly respected amongst the other members of our faction and are relatively high up in the chain of authoritative figures. To our left is the living room, to our right is a staircase and right in front of us is the kitchen and dining area. I cant see it from the door way, but I know that around the corner in the right side of the dining room is her parents huge, luxury, master bedroom. Her brothers room takes up most of the basement level and her's takes up all of upstairs level. Every time I come here I am in awe of all the Gothic decor. They've got a Gothic style couch, coffee table, rug, paintings, and from past visits I know that all of the beds are done in a Gothic theme as well. br /"Cool." I hear Dylan say beside me. br /"I know. Her parents are huge on all that Gothic stuff."br /"My parents are just boring. There is nothing special about our house at all." He /"Mine are all about that modern black and white stuff. I much prefer Lexi's house style."br /"That's because you're insane, Alice. Your house is so much cooler than mine. If only this faction allowed color. Then hour house could be truly beautiful." Lexi says to me. "Come on. Let's go up to my room." The three of us walk up the stairs to Lexi's room. It's got an elegant white, Gothic style bed that looks like it was make for a queen and random sewing stuff and mannequins and sketch boards and whatever else an aspiring clothing designer might need is scattered around the room. The entire wall that faces the city is made of glass so from up here I can see everything. She keeps all of her clothes in the large black wardrobe that covers up her closet. She's never let me see what's in her closet, but this time as soon as she closes the door she starts to move the wardrobe out of the way. br /"I'll be honest with you guys." She says as she dusts herself off. "I've ever shown anyone what's in here. Not even my family."br /"Yeah. I know." I say, not quite sure what she's getting at and kinda scared about what might be in it. "What's this about Lex?" I /"Without answering, she turns to the closet and opens it. Inside is about everything that has never been in my life, besides in pictures or at school. Color. Lots and lots of color, along with lots and lots of clothes. I've never seen so much color in one place. br /"Holy clothes." Dylan says beside /"Holy color." I say as Dylan and I look at each other, the closet, and then /"I want to be a clothing designer." She tells /"Lexi, why are you telling us this?" I /"I'm not staying in Candor." She says. "After the choosing ceremony I'm leaving, probably to Amity. I just wanted you two to know that." She /"I'm not staying here either." Dylan says. "I'm going to Dauntless, unless the test tells me otherwise, but I doubt it will."br /"What about you Alice. What are you going to do?" Lexi asks /"I'm not sure." I admit. "But I'm not staying here, and I'm not about to go be a stiff or a nose either."br /"So you're either gonna be with me or Dyl?" Lexi asks /I hesitate. "I couldn't go to Amity Lex. I'm sorry, but that's not me. I guess that leaves Dauntless for me, unless the test says otherwise."br /Lexi's eyes tear up. "I'm gonna miss you guys." She says and opens her eyes wide for a /"Yeah." I say sadly as Dylan and I go in for a hug. br /br /Dylan and I stayed at Lexi's house until late that night. He lives near me so we walked back home in an awkward silence, only talking to each other once, when he was walking into his house and we said goodbye. When I get home I find that my dad is still awake, so I sneak around him and run up to my room without him noticing. I lay down in the bed, exhausted and fall asleep with one word in my mind. Tomorrow. /p 


End file.
